Jon Koppenhaver

War Machine Defeats Mikey Gomez at XFC 9

War Machine, the fighter formerly known as “Ultimate Fighter 6” cast member Jon Koppenhaver, stopped EliteXC veteran Mikey Gomez via third-round TKO in the main event of Florida-based Xtreme Fighting Championships’ “Evolution” event on Saturday night at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida.

The victory is the fifth straight for War Machine, who has now won every one of his fights since his controversial release from the UFC last fall. In defeat, Gomez suffered his fourth loss in a row.

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War Machine Heads XFC 9 Tonight on HDNet

War Machine, the fighter formerly known as “Ultimate Fighter 6” cast member Jon Koppenhaver, will take on EliteXC and Bellator veteran Mikey Gomez in the main event of Florida-based Xtreme Fighting Championships’ ninth-ever event, titled “Evolution” tonight at the at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.

The nine-bout card will be televised live in North America on HDNet starting at 9 PM ET. Other notable bouts will include Jason Goodall facing Pablo Alfonso for the XFC bantamweight title and a clash between heavyweight prospects Chris Barnett and Daniel Perez.

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War Machine to Fight at UWC 6 on April 25

WASHINGTON, DC - East coast regional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) powerhouse the UWC - Ultimate Warrior Challenge formally announced today that a catch weight bout of 175lbs between War Machine (Jon Koppenhaver) and local rising star Reshad Woods will serve as the co-feature at “UWC 6: Capital Punishment “, April 25th at the George Mason University Patriot Center Arena in Fairfax, VA.

“As a DC-based operation that’s also the largest professional MMA show on the East Coast, we have a responsibility to find and showcase the MMA stars of tomorrow from this area,” said UWC CEO S. Marcello Foran. “But we also have a responsibility to have DC’s best fight the best from around the nation. In keeping with that duty, we are proud to announce War Machine vs. Reshad Woods for UWC: Capital Punishment. Woods has steamrolled his last four opponents and is looking for bigger challenges, while War Machine is seeking redemption and to prove he can be a title contender. Given where they are in their career, this is the perfect fight for both fighters.”

War Machine (Jon Koppenhaver) is 7-2, is a veteran of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” season 6 and a two-time veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He trains out of MMA legend Randy Couture’s world-class fight facility and team Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, NV as well as SD Undisputed in San Diego, CA.

A controversial figure in the sport of MMA for unfiltered outbursts and opinions that eventually affected his placement in the sport, War Machine is now managed by Ken Pavia and is looking for image redemption. After losing to Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 84 in August of 2008, War Machine has won his last two fights stopping both opponents in under one round.

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War Machine Victorious at XMMA 7

War Machine, formerly known as “Ultimate Fighter” alumnus Jon Koppenhaver, scored a first-round submission win over Guillaume Delorenzi at Saturday’s XMMA 7 event in Montreal,  Quebec, Canada, handed Delorenzi his first professional loss.

Two title fights also took place on the card: Martin Desilets submitted Todd Gouwenberg with a modified triangle choke in the first round to claim the vacant XMMA light heavyweight belt while Kajan Johnson claimed the XMMA lightweight title from Steve Claveau after submitting the veteran with an armbar in the second round.

Complete results from the event:

War Machine def. Guillaume Delorenzi - Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), R1
Kajan Johnson def. Steve Claveau - Submission (Armbar), R2
Martin Desilets def. Todd Gouwenberg - Submission (Modified Triangle Choke), R1
Thierry Quenneville def. Douglas Evans - Submission (Armbar), R2
Tim Wadsworth def. Johan Croes - Submission (Armbar), R1
Derek Gauthier def. Dave Pariseau - Submission (Armbar), R1
Dan Grandmaison def. Markhaile Wedderburn - Submission (Injury), R1
Valerie Letourneau def.Kate Roy Submission (Armbar), R1
Eddie Fyvie def. Stephane Lamarche - Submission (Armbar), R3
Jeff Royer def. Sebastian Deroy - TKO (Strikes), R1
John Makdessi def. Amir Uddin - TKO (Strikes), R2
Daylin Logan def. Dominique Poissant - TKO (Strikes), R1
William Romero def. Michel Gagnon - Unanimous Decsion

Changes Hit XMMA 7 Main Card

The Quebec-based XMMA promotion has announced a pair of changes to its upcoming “Inferno” event, which is slated to take place on February 7 at the Cepsum Center on the campus of the University of Montreal. Headliners Phil Baroni and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos have been forced off the card after suffering separate injuries during recent training sessions.

Baroni, who was set to take on rising welterweight prospect Guillaume de Lorenzi, will now be replaced by former “Ultimate Fighter” cast member Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver, who has been mentioned in the media quite frequently over the past weeks due to his release from Bellator Fighting Championships’ project with ESPN Deportes after he directed controversial comments towards newly-elected United States President Barack Obama.

Koppenhaver last competed at a Desert Rage event in November of last year, where he scored a first-round knockout of David Anderson. Following his time on “TUF”, Koppenhaver racked up a 1-1 record in the UFC before his departure, earning a third-round TKO of cast mate Jared Rollins and falling to Japanese veteran Yoshiyuki Yoshida.

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‘War Machine’ Released From UFC

‘War Machine’, formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver before legally changing his real name to his nickname last week, has been formally released from the UFC following controversial comments concerning the death of former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner among other things.

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Koppenhaver stated that he learned of his release from the organization courtesy of UFC matchmaker Joe Silva this past Wednesday.

“Joe Silva—he was pretty much on a power trip,” War Machine said in the interview. “He was like, ‘I already told you that I already have Wolff for War Machine. I don’t know who he is thinking he’s negotiating with me. You know what? I’m sick of this guy.’ Then he brought up the Evan Tanner thing. ‘He made a dumbass comment on Evan Tanner. He’s not supporting the UFC. You know what? War Machine is cut.’ And they cut me.”

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Meet Mr. War Machine

Remember when Jon Koppenhaver was put to sleep via anaconda choke by Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 84? Well Bruce Buffer didn’t use his nickname when introducing him and there’s apparently reason behind that. Something to do with TNA Wrestling according to Koppenhaver’s latest MySpace blog:

SO in case you didn’t notice in my last fight the UFC did NOT use my nickname when I fought. Turns out some gay ass wrestling federation threatened to sue them because they recently named one of their wrestlers The War Machine Rhino and trademarked the name.

Too fuckin’ bad that I have been using this name for 6 years, have it tatted on my body and it is what my fans yell out when I’m fighting. If you know my personality then you know damn well I am not gonna let some faggot ass, FAKE wrestler steal MY name…SO 6 weeks ago I filed a change of name request and today I had court to make my name officially WAR MACHINE.

Fuckin’ funny right? Didn’t really wanna have to do it but I am sure as hell not lose MY nickname.

The last “professional athlete” of note to do this was the Ultimate Warrior and we all know how he turned out. For what its worth, the UFC still has Koppenhaver listed under his real name on their website. He isn’t scheduled to fight as of right now either so I guess we’ll have to wait and see if he’s telling the truth.

HT: Cage Potato

UFC Announces Koppenhaver-Yoshida for May

Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver, one of the most popular cast members that have come out of the sixth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, will return to action against Shooto veteran Yoshiyuki Yoshida when the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Las Vegas on May 24th for UFC 84: Ill Will.

The promotion officially announced the bout, as well as a welterweight undercard clash between Jason Tan and Dong Hyun Kim, today on their website.

UFC 84 will be headlined by a bad blood-filled UFC lightweight title bout that pits current champion B.J. Penn up against former champion Sean Sherk. Former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz will also go up against an undefeated Lyoto Machida in a fight that will likely be Ortiz’s last with the UFC.

After losing a unanimous decision to eventual runner-up Tommy Speer during the show, Koppenhaver excited fans at The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale where he went to war with fellow cast mate Jared Rollins in a fight of the year candidate. Koppenhaver finished Rollins off with strikes late in the third round.

Koppenhaver was also recently sentenced to three years probation stemming from assault charges after he allegedly attacked a man outside of a San Diego gym.

Yoshida is currently riding an eight-fight winning streak that stretches back to March 2006 and includes a win over highly touted Akira Kikuchi. Yoshida won his most recent fight against Dan Hardy by disqualification after Hardy kicked him in the groin.

Koppenhaver Receives Three Years Probation

Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver, one of the most popular cast members that have come out of the sixth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, has been sentenced to three years probation stemming from assault charges after Koppenhaver allegedly attacked a man outside of a San Diego gym.

The news comes from a report by KGTV San Diego, who also reports that Koppenhaver will also be required to continue to seek counseling.

The California native pleaded guilty to the charges after being accused of attacking Darren Zatkow while he was in town visiting a former girlfriend. A witness who took the stand during a trial last year stated that he only saw Koppenhaver hold the man at one point and that it was another person that assaulted him.

Koppenhaver was also facing battery charges but they were dropped after he entered a guilty plea. His felony assault charges were lowered to misdemeanors.

Zatkow publicly stated during the trial that he didn’t want to see Koppenhaver’s career ruined by the charges. He asked for restitution in the form of $2,300, which Koppenhaver has already reportedly paid.

Judge Frank Brown said that Koppenhaver’s situation was not that he would normally feel compassionate about, but also noted that he wanted to give him a second chance.

“No good comes of calling you a felon,” Brown said. “However this also means that I want you to stay out of trouble and lead a good life. You should be thankful towards Mr. Zatkow, he was very compassionate of you.”

If he violates his probation, Koppenhaver will face up to a year in prison. On top of the three years he received, Koppenhaver has been ordered to do thirty hours of community service. While handing out the punishment, Judge Brown gave the line of the week.

“If he can’t pick up a beer can on the freeway, he shouldn’t be fighting,” Brown said.

On the heels of contemplating a potential move to the UFC’s lightweight division, Koppenhaver announced yesterday that will likely return to action this spring at UFC 84 against an opponent yet to be announced.

After losing a unanimous decision to eventual runner-up Tommy Speer during the show, Koppenhaver returned to action at The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale where he went to war with fellow cast mate Jared Rollins in a fight of the year candidate. Koppenhaver finished Rollins off with strikes late in the third round.

Koppenhaver Likely to Return at UFC 84 in May

Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver, one of the most popular cast members that have come out of the sixth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, will likely return to action this spring at UFC 84.

Koppenhaver revealed the news in a recent MySpace bulletin.

The event, which is scheduled to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 24th, is expected to be headlined between a lightweight title showdown between B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk. Tito Ortiz will likely return to action at the event as well against an undefeated Ryoto Machida is what might just be Ortiz’s last fight in the UFC.

After losing a unanimous decision to eventual runner-up Tommy Speer during the show, Koppenhaver returned to action at The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale where he went to war with fellow cast mate Jared Rollins in a fight of the year candidate. Koppenhaver finished Rollins off with strikes late in the third round.

Koppenhaver will also be sentenced later today on felony assault charges.

The California native pleaded guilty to the charges after being accused of attacking a man outside of a San Diego gym while he was in town visiting a former girlfriend. A witness who took the stand during the trial stated that he only saw Koppenhaver hold the man at one point and that it was another person that assaulted him.

Koppenhaver was also facing battery charges but they were dropped after he entered a guilty plea. He is not expected to receive any jail time.